Long-Term Results of Complex Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Open Repair.

This study investigated the long-term outcomes of patients treated with open surgical repair for complex abdominal aortic aneurysms (c-AAAs). A total of 119 patients with c-AAAs undergoing repair between January 2010 and June 2016 in a high-volume aortic center were included. The long-term imaging follow-up consisted of yearly abdominal ultrasound examinations and 5-year computed tomography angiography. At a median follow-up of 76 months (IQR 38 months), forty-three deaths (37%) and three (2.5%) aortic-related deaths were observed. Long-term chronic renal decline was observed in fifty (43.8%) patients, significantly correlated with post-operative acute kidney injury. During the follow-up, five reinterventions (4.3%) were performed. The present study suggests that open c-AAA repair can be performed with acceptable operative risk with durable results. To achieve the best possible long-term outcome, the open surgery repair of complex AAA should be performed in high-volume aortic centers and tailored to the patient.

A New Mini-Invasive Approach for a Catastrophic Disease: Staged Endovascular and Endoscopic Treatment of Aorto-Esophageal Fistulas.

Aorto-esophageal fistula (AEF) is an uncommon but usually fatal disorder. Surgery with resection of an aneurysm and esophagus, in situ reconstruction of the descending aorta and omental flap installation offers the gold standard for the reduction of infections, but it is burdened by high intraoperative and perioperative mortality rates. We report our experience with a combined minimally invasive approach for the multi-stage treatment of three cases of aorto-esophageal fistula caused by thoracic aneurysm rupture. In all of the patients, the aneurysm was treated with thoracic endovascular aortic repair and the esophageal lesion was treated with esophageal endoprosthesis placement. According to our experience, the combined strategy of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) and esophageal less invasive endoscopic treatments represents an alternative solution in frail patients with high surgical risk.

Management of Iatrogenic Bladder Injury due to Vascular Surgery: Case Report and Literature Review.

We report an unusual case of a 53-year-old male patient, previously undergone an extra-anatomic right-to-left iliofemoral bypass graft, who has developed gross hematuria after 4 months. The cystoscopic examination revealed a wall injury due to the presence of the graft crossing the bladder. Iatrogenic bladder injuries during vascular surgery are extremely rare. In the literature, only 11 cases of transvesical graft are reported. The complication has been resolved with the removal of the misplaced graft and the reconstruction of the bypass with silver-coated Dacron prosthesis. Despite the rarity of this complication, postoperative ultrasound of the bladder is recommended to timely detect any injury and adopt a correct surgical strategy.

Increased FGF23 serum level is associated with unstable carotid plaque in type 2 diabetic subjects with internal carotid stenosis.

BACKGROUND: The object of this study was to investigate the potential role of FGF23 on plaque stability in type 2 diabetic patients with internal carotid artery stenosis. METHODS: In this retrospective observational study, we analyzed FGF23 serum level in 361 type 2 diabetic patients with internal carotid artery stenosis undergoing carotid endarterectomy and in 598 diabetic controls without carotid atherosclerosis. RESULTS: We found that FGF23 median serum levels was significantly higher in patients than in diabetic controls [67.7 (59.5-77.8) pg/mL and 43.89 (37.5-50.4), P < 0.001] and was significantly and independently associated with unstable plaque in patients with internal carotid artery stenosis [OR, 5,71 (95% CI, 2.09-15.29]. CONCLUSIONS: We have found, for the first time, that FGF23 could be associated with unstable plaque in type 2 diabetic patients with internal carotid artery stenosis.

The role of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in visualizing atherosclerotic carotid plaque vulnerability: which injection protocol? Which scanning technique?

PURPOSE: To correlate the degree of plaque vulnerability as determined by contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) with histological findings. Secondary objectives were to optimize the CEUS acquisition technique and image evaluation methods. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty consecutive patients, either symptomatic and asymptomatic referring to our department in order to perform carotid endarterectomy (TEA), were enrolled. Each patient provided informed consent before undergoing CEUS. Ultrasound examination was performed using high-frequency (8-14 MHz) linear probe and a non-linear pulse inversion technique (mechanical index: 0.09-1.3). A double contrast media injection (Sonovue, 2 mL and 4 mL; Bracco, Italy) was performed. Two videotapes were recorded for every injection: early "dynamic" phase and late "flash" phase, performed with 6 high mechanical index impulses. Movies were quantitatively and qualitatively evaluated. Qualitative and quantitative evaluation were statistically compared to immunohistological diagnosis of vulnerable plaque, considered as gold standard. RESULTS: Qualitative CEUS evaluation obtained high statistical results when compared to immunohistological results, with values of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and diagnostic accuracy of 94%, 68%, 87%, 85% and 86%, respectively, which became higher if considering only asymptomatic patient, with a NPV of 91%. Nevertheless, quantitative software evaluation proved less effective and could not reach similar results. CONCLUSION: Carotid plaque enhancement assessed with CEUS well correlates with histological assessment of plaque instability. CEUS may provide valuable information for plaque risk stratification and may play a role in the indication to treatment of patients with carotid stenoses, particularly in asymptomatic population.

Identification of a potential proinflammatory genetic profile influencing carotid plaque vulnerability.

OBJECTIVE: Atherosclerosis and vascular remodeling after injury are driven by inflammation and mononuclear cell infiltration. Unstable atherosclerotic plaques are characterized by a large necrotic core. In this study we investigated the distribution and interaction between gene polymorphisms encoding proinflammatory molecules in an Italian population with internal carotid artery stenosis (ICAS). We also evaluated whether reciprocal interaction between these gene polymorphisms increased the risk of plaque vulnerability. METHODS: In this genetic association study, 11 proinflammatory gene polymorphisms were analyzed in 933 individuals comprising 344 patients with ICAS who underwent carotid endarterectomy and 589 controls without ultrasound evidence of atherosclerosis or intimal thickening. RESULTS: We found that interleukin (IL) 6 (IL-6), IL-1ß, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (CCL2) macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (CCL3), E-selectin (SELE), intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM1), and matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3), and 9 (MMP-9) gene variants were independently and significantly associated with ICAS. The association remained significant even after the Bonferroni correction. We also found a genetic profile associated with different risks for ICAS, depending on the number of high-risk genotypes simultaneously present in an individual. Furthermore, proinflammatory genetic profiles are significantly more common in individuals with unstable carotid plaque. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows, for the first time, a reciprocal interaction between proinflammatory genotypes for the development and progression of ICAS.

Assessment of the genetic effects of polymorphisms in the osteoprotegerin gene, TNFRSF11B, on serum osteoprotegerin levels and carotid plaque vulnerability.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is a secretory glycoprotein which belongs to the tumor necrosis factor receptor family. Various mechanisms have been suggested by which calcification might alter atherosclerotic plaque stability, but the significance of this intimal calcification is controversial. High concentrations of OPG have been associated with the presence of vascular and cardiovascular diseases. This study was designed to assess the association between gene polymorphisms of the OPG gene (TNFRSF11B), the serum OPG level, and plaque stability in patients with carotid atherosclerosis. METHODS: We studied 177 patients with internal carotid artery stenosis who underwent carotid endarterectomy and also 303 controls. Carotid endarterectomy samples removed from patients were assessed by immunohistochemistry. Concentrations of OPG were measured and gene polymorphisms were examined by polymerase chain reaction and restriction enzyme analysis and were compared, initially between patients with carotid atherosclerosis and controls, and subsequently between stable and unstable carotid plaques. RESULTS: We found that the GG genotype of the T245G polymorphism, the CC genotype of the T950C polymorphism, and the CC genotype of the G1181C polymorphism were significantly higher in patients with carotid plaque than in controls (21.5% versus 10.9% , P<0.01; 15.8% versus 7.6%, P<0.01; and 20.3% versus 10.9%, P<0.01, respectively) and that these polymorphisms were associated with high serum OPG levels (4.02 [3.07] versus 2.94 [1.81] pmol/L; P<0.01), which were significantly higher in patients with unstable atherosclerotic plaques (5.86 [4.02] versus 3.53 [1.87] pmol/L; P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The TNFRSF11B gene polymorphisms studied are associated with high serum OPG levels and might be potential markers for plaque instability.

Lost and found: an unusual late complication of the Angio-Seal closure device.

We report an unusual case of breakage and embolisation of a femoral access closure device (Angio-Seal), which caused acute leg ischemia after percutaneous coronary intervention in a diabetic patient with documented peripheral vascular disease. Embolectomy from the superficial femoral artery revealed the polymer anchor split in two parts and embedded within a large (25x5 mm) thrombus.

Teaching subfascial perforator veins surgery: survey on a 2-day hands-on course.

BACKGROUND: The present paper describes a training method with objective evaluation to enhance video-assisted surgical skills in subfascial endoscopic perforator veins surgery (SEPS). Training was scheduled during a 2-day intensive course. METHODS: Hands-on exercises were performed (i) on a simulator to assess whether specific training exercises were helpful in attainment of skills; (ii) on a known animal model that uses the swine abdominal wall and which allows practice in endoscopic dissection and perforator veins (PV) using appropriate instrumentation in an environment that is a reasonable surrogate for the human calf; and (iii) assisting a senior surgeon performing SEPS. Thirty surgeons without experience in SEPS were trained to perform a sequence of standardized drills connected with the SEPS technique. The SEPS simulator consisted of an artificially constructed subfascial space of the leg in which false perforator veins had to be localized, and cut. The participants performed a sequence of drills three times in order to improve their dexterity. The same exercises were then performed on a swine model. The model consisted of the arteries and veins penetrating the rectus fascia and passing into the overlying cutaneous trunci muscle and hypodermis on either side of the midline between the arch of the ribs cranially and the umbilicus caudally. Trainees were required to achieve operative space in the animal subcutaneous fat, to reach and identify the "perforating" subcutaneous vessels, and to interrupt some of them with a 5-mm clamp coagulator ultrasonic scalpel. The time required to perform each dexterity drill was recorded in seconds. Finally, the day after, trainees were asked to drive the senior operator during clinical SEPS performed on eight patients, suggesting the following manoeuvres in order to: (i) enter the subfascial space of the leg; (ii) make operative space; (iii) identify the incompetent perforator vein(s); and (iv) coagulate and divide them with the ultrasonic scalpel. Each of these four steps scored 1 point. RESULTS: All the trainees showed a steady improvement in skill acquisition on the SEPS simulator (P < 0.001), and on the animal model with the single-port technique (P < 0.001). These results reflect positively on the animal model using the dual-port technique, and on the scores achieved in the operating theatre during clinical SEPS. CONCLUSIONS: The validity of the 2-day course was demonstrated by significant improvement in performance with increasing skill on the training models, and in clinical practice.